Make It Three For The Hawks

Chicago Blackhawks' John Scott right, fights with St. Louis Blues' Cam Janssen in the first period of a NHL hockey game in Chicago, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Blackhawks' John Scott right, fights with St. Louis Blues' Cam Janssen in the first period of a NHL hockey game in Chicago, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

The Blackhawks and Blues combined for 12 goals and three fights Tuesday night in what amounted to a 7-5 win for the Blackhawks. It’s the third straight win for the Hawks who have won six of their last eight. While the game began as a route–Chicago led 5-1 midway through the second period–a lapse in effort allowed the Blues to make it a 5-4 game with just 13:58 left to play in the third.

“We, um, kind of stopped playing there when we had a lead,” Patrick Sharp said after the game. “It seems like we’ve done that a few times this year. It’s nice to see the response after the time out and I thought we played better towards the end of the game.”

That end of the game–the final 6:18 to be exact–saw three more goals. Two of them were Hawks’ tallies; one from Patrick Kane and one from Jonathan Toews.

“I think we’ve had some games like this last year and in the past that, you know, we’re looking to make it 6-2 instead of just [being] happy at 5-2,” Joel Quenneville said.

Still, lapse in effort aside, the Hawks were able to recollect and pull a win out of near disaster. Five different Blackhawks scored. Tomas Kopecky (3), Patrick Sharp (16) and Troy Brouwer (5) all had one goal while Jonathan Toews (11) and Patrick Kane (11) both notched a pair.

If the biggest criticism of this team has been the lack of production from its stars, it wasn’t the case Tuesday night.

In one of the crazier moments of a crazy game, Jeremy Morin recorded his first NHL point. Morin went to dump the puck around the boards but the puck hit a stanchion in the glass and caromed off into the middle of the ice. Blues goaltender Ty Conklin had left his crease to play the puck behind the net which allowed Troy Brouwer, who had slipped past the defense, an easy open-net opportunity.

Morin also recorded his first fight. He dropped the gloves against Chris Porter–a rematch of a scrap from earlier in the season when both were in the AHL.

“Tonight I just tried to, you know, bring some energy to that line and tried to contribute a bit,” Morin said. “I got a luck bounce there for my first point but I’ll take it.” Morin didn’t say whether he’ll keep the puck as a memento but left the United Center with a reminder of the game–a healthy number of stitches at the bridge of his nose.